rijane99
03-31-2003, 07:58 AM
I didn't see this anywhere- hopefully this isn't a double post...
----oy- editted for a spoiler warning below for the season 4 finale- my deepest apologies if anyone got spoiled the way I did for the Season 3 finale by a troll on the scifi bboard---
I'm sure the ice cream and the gift basket sealed the deal 'cause Roush had 2 Farscape-related questions in his Ask Matt column today- Send off a thank you email if you have a chance today!
http://www.tvguide.com/tv/roush/mattask/
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Question: I hope you can stand one more question about the end of Farscape. After watching the series finale, it seemed to me that it could have been great except for the last two minutes, when they introduced the cliffhanger. Given that the producers, the Sci-Fi Channel and all the viewers knew for months that the show was ending, how hard would it have been to trim those last two minutes? That way the show could have ended on a good note. And why say "to be continued"? They knew it wouldn't be. I'd be interested in your opinion on this. — Abbie
Matt: As you might expect, I've been getting quite a bit of mail on this topic — most of it like this. Personally, I enjoyed the final episode, although like others I wish it had been able to give some more screen time to the other occupants of Moya beyond the dream team of John Crichton and Aeryn Sun. As for the shocking ending, in which John and Aeryn were seemingly blasted into dust (although "neutralized" is how the grotesque alien invader put it) after he proposed to her in a truly euphoric scene, I knew as most did that exec producer David Kemper had planned a wild cliffhanger as he had for the past seasons. If I have the story straight, not until this episode was finished did he and the rest of the crew learn the show wasn't being renewed. I think that by keeping this outrageous ending intact Kemper was thumbing his nose at the network, not at us. Like all those loyal subjects of the Save Farscape movement — and by the way, I appreciate all the feedback and the recently hand-delivered goodies — I believe deep down that Farscape will indeed continue in some form some day, at the very least in a movie or TV-movie sequel. The "to be continued" tag seemed to me an expression of hope, not a malicious tease.
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Question: I was directed to your columns on a Farscape newsgroup by people who pointed out you enjoyed the show, and have kept up with them ever since. I like to see your take on both shows I love and shows that I dislike. I was thrilled to watch the beautiful and always interesting journey that was Farscape, and now that it's over, I'm wondering what you think of the state of sci-fi on television these days. Especially the space-based sci-fi such as Farscape and Firefly. Do you think it's in decline? — Felicity
Matt: Given that Farscape and Firefly are history, I think it's safe to say that space-based sci-fi is in serious decline. Farscape set the bar for this kind of series, as far as I was concerned. The only series that ever came close were Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine (though more uneven, often very rewarding) and Babylon 5 (a series I admired more than enjoyed). Firefly was such an original and risky space/Western hybrid it obviously was going to need some time to find its way, but Fox didn't give Joss Whedon a fair chance from the start. Not being a Stargate viewer or a fan of Showtime's sci-fi snoozers (Jeremiah and Odyssey 5), and wishing that Enterprise had a little more vitality, I guess I'll just have to wait for the next great thing to come along. Farscape was a complete surprise, so I'm cautiously hopeful another is waiting in the wings. But for now, the only TV genre in as bad shape as the sci-fi series is the TV comedy.
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----oy- editted for a spoiler warning below for the season 4 finale- my deepest apologies if anyone got spoiled the way I did for the Season 3 finale by a troll on the scifi bboard---
I'm sure the ice cream and the gift basket sealed the deal 'cause Roush had 2 Farscape-related questions in his Ask Matt column today- Send off a thank you email if you have a chance today!
http://www.tvguide.com/tv/roush/mattask/
S
P
O
I
L
E
R
S
P
A
C
E
Question: I hope you can stand one more question about the end of Farscape. After watching the series finale, it seemed to me that it could have been great except for the last two minutes, when they introduced the cliffhanger. Given that the producers, the Sci-Fi Channel and all the viewers knew for months that the show was ending, how hard would it have been to trim those last two minutes? That way the show could have ended on a good note. And why say "to be continued"? They knew it wouldn't be. I'd be interested in your opinion on this. — Abbie
Matt: As you might expect, I've been getting quite a bit of mail on this topic — most of it like this. Personally, I enjoyed the final episode, although like others I wish it had been able to give some more screen time to the other occupants of Moya beyond the dream team of John Crichton and Aeryn Sun. As for the shocking ending, in which John and Aeryn were seemingly blasted into dust (although "neutralized" is how the grotesque alien invader put it) after he proposed to her in a truly euphoric scene, I knew as most did that exec producer David Kemper had planned a wild cliffhanger as he had for the past seasons. If I have the story straight, not until this episode was finished did he and the rest of the crew learn the show wasn't being renewed. I think that by keeping this outrageous ending intact Kemper was thumbing his nose at the network, not at us. Like all those loyal subjects of the Save Farscape movement — and by the way, I appreciate all the feedback and the recently hand-delivered goodies — I believe deep down that Farscape will indeed continue in some form some day, at the very least in a movie or TV-movie sequel. The "to be continued" tag seemed to me an expression of hope, not a malicious tease.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question: I was directed to your columns on a Farscape newsgroup by people who pointed out you enjoyed the show, and have kept up with them ever since. I like to see your take on both shows I love and shows that I dislike. I was thrilled to watch the beautiful and always interesting journey that was Farscape, and now that it's over, I'm wondering what you think of the state of sci-fi on television these days. Especially the space-based sci-fi such as Farscape and Firefly. Do you think it's in decline? — Felicity
Matt: Given that Farscape and Firefly are history, I think it's safe to say that space-based sci-fi is in serious decline. Farscape set the bar for this kind of series, as far as I was concerned. The only series that ever came close were Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine (though more uneven, often very rewarding) and Babylon 5 (a series I admired more than enjoyed). Firefly was such an original and risky space/Western hybrid it obviously was going to need some time to find its way, but Fox didn't give Joss Whedon a fair chance from the start. Not being a Stargate viewer or a fan of Showtime's sci-fi snoozers (Jeremiah and Odyssey 5), and wishing that Enterprise had a little more vitality, I guess I'll just have to wait for the next great thing to come along. Farscape was a complete surprise, so I'm cautiously hopeful another is waiting in the wings. But for now, the only TV genre in as bad shape as the sci-fi series is the TV comedy.
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